We met through a mutual friend while I (Heather) was living in Melbourne, Australia. Mike was planning a 2 week vacation to Australia and our friend thought it would be a good idea for us to meet up. I messaged him and we got to talking, and instantly hit it off. We planned to meet in Fiji, booked our flights and hotel, only to be diverted by a category five cyclone. We ended up meeting in the Gold Coast, Australia and spent the subsequent five days traveling together, exploring Surfer's Paradise, driving the Great Ocean Road, and seeing the fairy penguins at St. Kilda pier. It was an amazing start to an amazing friendship and when I moved back to New York 4 months later, we started dating. Since then, we have traveled to over 20 countries and 30 cities together!

During our 2 week trip in Asia with my cousin, Schyler & her husband, Dean, we visited so many amazing places. There were moments throughout the trip when I thought Mike might propose, but I wasn't sure. I had just about accepted the fact that it wasn't going to happen on this trip, when we checked in to our final hotel: the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. As we're standing at the check in counter, the concierge hands me an envelope with my name on it. Inside, there is a letter & a $50 certificate to the on-premise nail salon. The letter said something along the lines of, "Thank you for choosing Marina Bay Sands. Please enjoy this complementary certificate, valid for tonight only." This was very suspicious & immediately got my heart pounding, but I played it cool & tried to act as oblivious as possible. After all, it was the sweetest gesture! The next morning, we woke up early & headed to Gardens by the Bay. We wanted to be the first ones to enter the Cloud Forest when it opened. When we got in, we were instantly wowed by the beauty of the 115ft tall waterfall in front of us. Mike asked Schyler & Dean to take some photos of us, & as we were posing for the pic, a woman walks over to Mike & hands him a bouquet of orchids (my favorite flower!). Before I could work out what was happening, he was down on one knee! Even though I had worked it out the night before, I was still so shocked - it was such an exciting moment! The next day, we began our journey back to New York. During our flight, Mike told me we were invited to a dinner to celebrate a friend's promotion. I fought through my jet lag & accompanied him to the restaurant. When we arrived, the host took us to the back room, & rather than the room full of (mostly) strangers that I was expecting, I was greeted by my parents, brothers, sisters, & niece! I was so surprised and happy; it was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me, topped only by Mike deciding he wants to spend the rest of his life with me!